With continuing development of new and better ways of delivering television and other video presentations to end users, and parallel development of computerized information systems, such as the Internet and the associated World Wide Web (WWW), there have been concerted efforts to integrate various systems to provide enhanced information delivery and entertainment systems. For example, developers are introducing integrated systems combining TVs with computer subsystems, so a TV may be used as a WEB browser, or a PC may be used for enhanced TV viewing.
In some systems computer elements, such as a CPU, memory, and the like, are built into the familiar chassis of a TV set. In such a system, the TV screen becomes the display monitor in the computer mode. In such a system, conventional TV elements and circuitry are incorporated along with the computer elements, and capability is provided for a user to switch modes, or to view recorded or broadcast video with added computer interaction. One may thus, with a properly equipped system, select to view analog TV programs, digital TV programs, conventional cable TV, satellite TV, pay TV from various sources, and browse the WWW as well, displaying WEB pages and interacting with on-screen fields and relational systems for jumping to related information, databases, and other WEB pages. The capabilities are often integrated into a single display, that is, one may view a broadcast presentation and also have a window on the display for WEB interaction.
In some other systems, computer elements are provided in an enclosure separate from the TV, often referred to in the art as a set-top box. Set-top box systems have an advantage for providers in that they may be connected to conventional television sets, so end users don't have to buy a new TV along with the computer elements.
In such integrated systems, whether in a single enclosure or as set-top box systems, user input is typically through a hand-held device quite similar to a familiar remote controller, usually having infra-red communication with the set-top box or a receiver in the integrated TV. For computer modes, such as WEB browsing, a cursor is displayed on the TV screen, and cursor manipulation is provided by buttons or other familiar pointer apparatus on the remote. Select buttons are also provided in the remote to perform the familiar function of such buttons on a pointer device, like a mouse or trackball more familiar to computer users.
Set-top boxes and computer-integrated TVs adapted as described above typically have inputs for such as a TV antenna (analog), cable TV (analog or digital), more recently direct-satellite TV (digital), and may also connect to video cassette recorders and to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and CD-ROM drives to provide a capability for uploading video data from such devices and presenting the dynamic result as a display on the TV screen.
The present inventors have noted that with the coupling of computer technology with TV, many capabilities familiar to computer users have been made available to TV users. For example, ability to provide text annotation for TV presentations is considerably enhanced. Computer techniques such a Pix-on-Pix are now available, wherein separate TV presentations may be made in separate windows, or overlaid windows on the display screen. Separate windows may also support display from separate sources, such as an analog TV program in one window, a computer game in another, and a video conference in a third.
With the technologies described above becoming more available in the market place, it has become desirable to further integrate the technologies described so that a user viewing a video presentation might be enabled to gather additional information about a specific image entity or entities portrayed in a video through interactive method. An ultimate goal and potential use of the technology is to provide a means for advertisers to promote and sell products through user interaction in a way that minimizes steps required by such a user to access additional information regarding traditionally advertised products such as through commercials and the like. Another potential use is to provide additional information about the entity, for example, if the image entity is a race car the additional information can be the speed of the car tracked, and so on.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus for tracking image entities within a dynamic video display for supplying such tracking data so as to enable the image entity or entities to be identifiable and user-interaction-capable to end users wherein upon interaction, additional data regarding the image entity may be presented to the user. Such a method and apparatus would provide advertisers with a new venue for promoting their products and services and limit steps required by consumers interested in finding out more about products in which they might be interested.